PHOTO: The body of missing maritime student David Breunig was pulled from the Penobscot River in Orono Maine over the weekend and formally identified yesterday.
The tall and athletic 21-year-old vanished late in February 2016, reportedly after leaving a house party on foot and crossing elevated train tracks leading downtown.
While no one actually witnessed Breunig "fall" that evening, police immediately began searching the Stillwater, which the railroad trestel spans, as well as the Penobscot where the two rivers converge.
Nothing was found in any of those search efforts, except "objects of interest."
On Friday April 22nd, however, the body of a young Caucasian male closely matching the description of David Breunig was discovered in the waters near Sea Dog brewery and Interstate 395.
The Bangor Fire Department was called to that location to retrieve the victim, who evidently had a wallet and other personal items belonging to the missing Maine Maritime Academy junior.
Although official confirmation could not be made at the time, the family was given notice over the weekend that their young man had likely been found dead.
According to the obituary the Breunigs subsequently published this week, a coroner has told them Breunig accidentally drowned on February 26th, after slipping from the railway and falling into the Stillwater River.
He “passed away after an accidental drowning” their statement partly read.
A public memorial mass for David Breunig will be held on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at Saint Hyacinth Church in Westbrook Maine.
